New generation, same challenge at Pocono

LONG POND — One after the other, the IndyCar drivers walked into the media center at Pocono Raceway.

MIKE KUHNS

LONG POND — One after the other, the IndyCar drivers walked into the media center at Pocono Raceway.

And one after the other, each politely described the uniqueness of the raceway's 2.5-mile triangle and the challenges it creates.

Then, Ryan Briscoe summed up what each driver — most seeing it for the first time in person — must have been thinking.

"Who thought to make an oval like this?" Briscoe said with a smile.

Welcome to Pocono Raceway, Ryan, the home of the Tricky Triangle.

After a 24-year hiatus, IndyCar racing will return to the superspeedway on July 7 for the Pocono IndyCar 400. Fourteen teams, including the top five drivers in points, were conducting tests in preparation for the race July 7, the first IndyCar event since 1989 when Danny Sullivan took the checkered flag.

"It's different, for sure it's different," said points leader Helio Castroneves. "For sure we're going to have four wide in the front straightaway, or five wide probably, no question about it."

One of the unforeseeable variables is the racing groove. Depending on the width of the groove — the area where cars can safely travel without losing grip — will impact passing.

If the groove is narrow, the racetrack may feel more like Indianapolis, but that remains to be seen. Another question for drivers is the car setup and which turn to be the strongest.

"It's always a compromise," said Ryan Hunter-Raey, who is second in points and has two wins this year. "If you make one corner perfect, the next corner is going to be loose and vise versa. It's just the way this place is. And with the changing wind direction, I'm sure when we come back here we'll have a different wind, it'll change the whole track. But you have to look at what pays off the most, where you're the strongest and focus on that and where you can make passes on other cars."

There are some second-and third-generation drivers expected to start on July 7. Marco Andretti is the grandson of IndyCar champions Mario Andretti and son to Michael Andretti. He has not won this year, but has four top-5 finishes.

Graham Rahal was born in 1989, the same year Pocono Raceway last hosted an IndyCar race. He's the son of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, Bobby Rahal. Bobby Rahal had one career win at Pocono Raceway in 1988.

"Anytime you can draw off of a person like that, someone like dad who has so much experience, at any track it helps us," Graham Rahal said. "Quite frankly when they've driven at so many different sorts circuits, they can help you anywhere.

"He'll be here when we come back next week and I'm sure he's looking forward to it. This track, it's a hell of a lot of fun that's for sure. It keeps your attention."